Google and TAITO Announce the Launch of "Space Invaders" AR Game for Android and iOS Platforms

Google this week announced Space Invaders: World Defense, a new mobile augmented reality game coming to Android and iOS devices.

The announcement was made via Google's AR & VR Twitter account, and a promo video of the game's hands-on demo is embedded below.

Space Invaders: World Defense is a spin-off of the classic arcade game Space Invaders, developed by Google in partnership with TAITO, the Japanese company behind the original (now owned by Square Enix).

The premise of the game seems fairly simple: Those classic space invaders will drop from the sky all over the world, so you'll need to use your phone's camera to find, target, and shoot them down in augmented reality.

Based on screenshots from Google Play, we can also see that Space Invaders: World Defense will also include some more traditional non-AR game elements, although we can't see these in the trailer. Pre-registration for Android devices is already available on Google Play, and pre-registration for iOS devices will open soon.

Space Invaders: World Defense is the latest in a string of mobile AR games since Niantic released Pokémon GO in 2016, which pioneered the genre. While many similar titles have since popped up, none have been as successful as Pokémon GO in 2016, which remains one of the most lucrative titles on the App Store.

Niantic CEO John Hanke announced last week that due to "unique challenges in the mobile gaming and augmented reality market," the company is cutting 230 jobs, canceling one upcoming game and winding down another. Hanke said Pokémon GO will be the company's top priority going forward, but also discussed a strategy that puts more emphasis on "building for emerging categories of mixed reality devices and future augmented reality glasses."